Page 310 of The Heart You Kept

“Help me,” I whimper as the room begins to spin. “Edward….”

Unable to move, my head flops to the side and time seems to stand still, sound is muffled and the blurred room begins to spin.

On the diagonal, I see someone in black go to the shelving unit and somehow open it. A staircase appears….

My eyes flutter as I fight for consciousness.

What the hell is going on…what is that staircase….am I dreaming?

Is this a nightmare?

The person walks back over to me and kicks me hard in the stomach, intense pain radiates through me but I’m paralyzed, unable to react.

No…. No…. I can’t open my eyes and sound begins to fade.

Pain…darkness….

Nothing.

EDWARD

Pacing back and forth, I throw down another glass of scotch. I keep going over and over tonight in my head.

I see the pain in Alora’s hurt face and I close my eyes in regret. She didn’t deserve that.

Fuck.

I drag my hand through my hair, why didn’t I just tell Alora that she came here?

To be honest it wasn’t even a conscious decision, after she left I didn’t think about it again. We had such a hectic week without a moment to spare. Alora and I met with an architect and were excited and talking about our new house and then Alora was obsessed with wedding crap and she was talking about that every night. I was preoccupied with work stuff too.

Isadora never entered my mind.

Not once.

I link my fingers on top of my head as I continue to pace. I can’t stand not being with her.

I feel like I’m about to lose my fucking mind here.

With a shaky hand I pour another glass of scotch and take a large gulp. I slosh it around in my mouth and feel it burn all the way down.

Calm down.

I continue to pace back and forth like a caged animal.

Alora’s alone.

It’s not safe…I’m going over there…. Her parting words come back to haunt me. “We have no future if you can’t respect my boundaries. I am not a prisoner here. I am allowed to think for myself.”

Fuck….

If I go over there and force entry into her house…I’m going to fuck this whole relationship if I’m not careful.

I’ve already fucked it.

Just call her and say good night. With my heart in my throat I dial her number.

Hello, you’ve reached Alora Sorenson. I’m sorry, I can’t take your call right now.